Israelis, Palestinians fail to reach agreement on prisoners release

Israelis, Palestinians fail to reach agreement on prisoners release
AGENCE FRANCE PRESS

JERUSALEM, DECEMBER 28: Israelis and Palestinians failed to resolve a dispute on Monday over the release of Palestinian prisoners and a long-overdue Israeli withdrawal from parts of the West Bank, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP.

Eraka said he met Chief Israeli negotiator Oded Eran one-on-one in a West Jerusalem hotel for a couple of hours. ``Unfortunately we didn't reach any agreement on any of the issues,'' he said. ``We officially protested the way the Israelis handled the issue of the prisoners' release and urged them to consult with us,'' he added.

Israel announced on Sunday that it would release over two dozen prisoners as a gesture of goodwill to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. ``Some 33 prisoners from the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jerusalem will be released, that is a very small number and we are not happy,'' Erakat said. ``Eleven Palestinians have between 2 to 6 months of their sentence left, they were going to be released soon anyway,'' headded.